“Tomorrow to fresh woods, and pastures new”: this final line from Milton’s poem “Lycidas” echoes in my ears as I sit down to write what will be, I report with mixed emotions, my final Note from the Chair for English Matters. In July I will be taking on a new administrative role, the UW Divisional Dean of the Humanities.
I do not see this change as a departure or break. I may be moving across the road from Padelford and taking up residence in a new location, the Arts and Sciences Deans… Read more
Faculty
Professor Brian Reed, Chair of the Department of English, has been appointed as the inaugural Milliman Endowed Chair in the Humanities at the University of Washington in recognition of the "phenomenal work he has achieved in the field of the humanities." This endowment has been established through the extraordinary generosity of Glen S. and Alison Wyckoff Milliman (read a bit about… Read more
Graduate
Sarah Faulkner, English graduate student of JaneFest fame, has the truly rare honor of being awarded a UW Excellence in Teaching Award. She is one of only two Ph.D students in the entire UW system to receive this prize.
Sarah Faulkner won the 2018 Jane Austen Society… Read more
Charles Johnson, Night Hawks (Simon and Schuster, 2018)
This new collection of stories from National Book Award winner Charles Johnson offers an eclectic range of narratives tied together by Buddhist themes and displaying all the grace, heart, and insight for which he has long been known. Spanning genres from science fiction to realism, these stories convey messages of tolerance, hope, and gratitude… Read more
We in the English Department know very well that there’s no “ex” in English major. As such, our alums, who crack books like eggs at Beth’s Café, are constantly on the hunt for that next worthy addition to the bedside tall stack. Our talented crew of proto-prose-pros (and poets!) answered gallantly English Matter’s urgent call for advice on which writers’ writers you ought to pick up this summer.
Let’s start with Deven… Read more
What follows is English Matters' interview with Sarah Faulkner, the English Ph.D. candidate responsible for Janefest 2017. Our conversation began over lunch at the UW Club, where she made eating an insufficiently chopped kale salad look easily polite, then finished by way of emails interjecting on her efforts to write a dissertation. Sarah Faulkner is dynamism incarnate. If you want to feel better about your busy life, try locating an hour of Sarah's that is not already spoken for… Read more
[Be sure to click the View Gallery button - memorable pics of a marvelous event! - Ed.]
Celebrating the life and work of novelist Jane Austen (1775-1817) on the 200th anniversary of her death, JaneFest 2017 brought 800 Austen aficionados to Mary Gates Hall for a full day of book discussions, dance workshops, and a period-costumed … Read more
[hover over pictures for captions and credits -- Ed.]
By Jessica Burstein, May 2018
Peter Buckroyd walks fast. You understand this from the very first day of the London Study Abroad Program. You’re probably still a little jetlagged, and the fact that cars are coming from the other direction is very much on your mind, but… Read more
The University of Washington English Department is proud to introduce our newest faculty member, Professor Rae Paris. Rae Paris joins our department from Michigan State University, where she was Assistant Professor of Creative Writing and core faculty in African American and African Studies since 2011. She completed her MFA from the University of Arizona. Afterwards, she was an Associate English Instructor at West Valley College in California, and then a Faculty Associate at Arizona State… Read more
Poet and environmental activist Wendell Berry has this to say about the value of studying abroad: “Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone.” English Matters agrees wholeheartedly! Particularly for curious college students, experience of the world… Read more
Kyle Sullivan (BA, Creative Writing, 2004) is the author of four children’s books and has started his own publishing imprint, Hazy Dell Press. The books are charmingly illustrated by his identical twin brother (and business partner). Does English Matters have a favorite title? Why yes, we are tickled by Don’t Eat Me Chupacabra!, which is button cute and has useful bilingual aspects to boot. Beginning in September the Sullivan brothers… Read more
[The English Department thanks our own Professor John Webster for the following memorial, reminding us of Professor Emeritus John Coldewey’s greatness as a colleague and teacher. Dr. Webster references Professor Coldewey’s Seattle Times obituary. To read that piece, and to contribute your own remembrances on the platform provided alongside,… Read more
[In this article Professor Joseph Butwin remembers with touching eloquence his friend, Professor Emeritus Robert Shulman. You can also view Dr. Shulman’s Seattle Times obituary and, if you wish, share your own memories and condolences on that platform; please… Read more
Publishing house Geopoetika – longtime partner with UW’s English/Comparative History of Ideas Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia program – has been awarded a London Book Fair International Excellence Award… Read more